Costs of Environmental Health Conditions in California Children

Children are generally more susceptible than adults to environmental hazards, but little is known about the economic burden of illnesses related to these hazards.

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A new report, Costs of Environmental Health Conditions in California Children, released by the Public Health Institute’s California Environmental Health Tracking Program (CEHTP), estimates the cost of four childhood conditions related to the environment in California: asthma, cancer, lead exposures, and neurobehavioral disorders.

The report found that preventable environmental hazards are responsible for a significant health and economic burden on children and families in California. In examining the environmentally-related costs of four childhood health conditions, the report found that:

• Preventable environmental hazards cost California $254 million every year and $10-13 billion over the lifetime of all children born every year.
• Lead exposures had the greatest overall financial impact of the four health conditions, resulting in lost earnings of $8-11 billion over the lifetime of children born each year.
• Asthma had the greatest financial impact on an annual basis, costing families and the state over $208 million every year.
• For California specifically, the environment contributes to 30% of the childhood asthma burden and 15% of the childhood cancer burden.

Download the full report:  Costs of Environmental Health Conditions in California Children 

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Supplementary Materials:

Executive Summary – English	Executive Summary – Spanish	FAQ – English	FAQ – Spanish

Appendix A	Appendix B	Additional Resources

This study was conducted by the Public Health Institute’s California Environmental Health Tracking Program, with funding from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Suggested citation: California Environmental Health Tracking Program, Public Health Institute. Costs of Environmental Health Conditions in California Children. June 2015. Available online at www.phi.org/CEHTPKidsHealthCosts